There was little joy for the Kiwi-trained horses at Eagle Farm, but earlier at Flemington, 2-year-old Codigo made a good fist of his Australian debut at Flemington.
He showed good tactical speed to lead before getting run down late for third and trainer Stephen Marsh will now bring him back to New Zealand where he looks set for a good 3-year-old season.
● Taranaki galloper Justaskme continued his purple patch of form at Whanganui when winning the Listed $65,000 Stakes.
The 7-year-old gelding was installed a $1.90 favourite for the mile feature following his last-start victory in the Listed Rangitikei Cup last month, and he duly delivered.
Under a patient ride by Johnathan Parkes, Justaskme settled in behind pacemaker Regal Rock, where he remained before Parkes found an inside passage when turning for home and Justaskme kicked clear of his rivals and scored a three-and-a-half length triumph.
“It was a terrific effort,” trainer Allan Sharrock said. “He was labelled as a good thing and duly obliged. At weight-for-age, he did what he should have done.”
Justaskme will now head for a freshen-up before being set for a couple of Cups targets over the coming months.
“He will have a 10-day spell and then he will probably go to the Opunake Cup [Listed, 1400m] and then down to the Winter Cup [Group 3, 1600m]. It augurs well for him at this stage.”
While Sharrock has his attention on winter targets with his gelding, he has his sights set on bigger targets in the spring, including the Group 1 Livamol Classic (2040m), a race Justaskme finished runner-up in behind Mustang Valley last year at Hastings.
“We will look skyward,” Sharrock said. “Any weight-for-age race on an off track, he has got to be competitive. We will probably look at the Livamol a little later with him.”
Meanwhile, Sharrock had mixed feelings about missing a crack at the Listed Castletown Stakes (1200m) with Carbonados earlier on the card.
The exciting son of Belardo was a short-priced favourite for the race but was withdrawn earlier in the week following his sale to Australia.
“I really rate the horse,” Sharrock said. “The winner [Chantilly Lace] has won by 10 [lengths] and we beat her by five in his first start. It is hard to say with the different track but his form is pretty good.”
- With LoveRacing News